Astronomers Capture Close-Up of Dying Distant Star
Unveiling the Cosmic Drama: The First Close-Up of a Star Outside Our Galaxy
A Stellar Milestone
In a groundbreaking achievement, astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have successfully captured the inaugural close-up image of a star located beyond the Milky Way. This extraordinary visual not only mesmerizes with its beauty but also offers a rare opportunity to observe the final moments of a dying star poised to explode into a supernova.
The Giant WOH G64
The star in question, WOH G64, stands out as one of the most massive and brilliant stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a neighboring galaxy to our own. With a diameter approximately 2,000 times greater than our Sun, WOH G64 is truly a celestial giant. If it were positioned where our Sun is, its radiant edges would extend all the way to the orbit of Saturn.
WOH G64 resides 160,000 light-years away in the constellation Dorado, meaning the light we observe today left the star 160,000 years ago. Born with a mass between 25 to 40 times that of the Sun, WOH G64 is destined for a cataclysmic end, a fate common among massive stars. These stellar behemoths typically undergo a dramatic collapse after depleting their nuclear fuel, transforming into supernovae. Yet, before this explosive conclusion, WOH G64 enters a tumultuous phase, reminiscent of a cosmic time bomb, evolving over thousands of years—a timeline that far exceeds human existence.
Capturing the Moment
The stunning image was recorded in December 2020 using the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), situated in the Atacama Desert of Chile. It reveals critical details about the star’s impending demise. Notably, WOH G64 returned to a calmer state in 2014 after a period of significant activity that lasted nearly three decades. The expelled materials now encircle the star, forming a previously unseen egg-shaped cocoon that the recent image has brought into sharp focus. Researchers suggest that this bright, dusty shell may be influenced by a hidden companion star, which could be drawing in some of the material cast off by WOH G64.
Insights from the Experts
“For the first time, we’ve managed to visualize the structures that envelop a star in its dying moments,” said Jacco van Loon, a co-author of the study from Keele Observatory in the UK, who has been investigating WOH G64 since the 1990s. “Even within our own Milky Way, such an image is unprecedented.”
The image also highlights an elliptical ring that has been observed since 2007, which surrounds the cocoon. This ring, estimated to span between 120 and 30,000 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun, could be a significant clue to the star’s mass loss. While various algorithms have attempted to reconstruct the ring, further observations are needed to confirm its nature as a dust ring or if it is merely a photographic artifact.
The Path to Supernova
The behavior of WOH G64 and the material surrounding it could echo the events leading up to the famous SN1987A supernova in the LMC. Observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope revealed that the progenitor star of SN1987A was a red supergiant that expelled ring-like material about 20,000 years before its explosion. Van Loon speculated, “If WOH G64 is exhibiting similar behavior, we could be in for an extraordinary spectacle in the near future.”
The exceptional clarity of the new image is attributed to GRAVITY, a sophisticated instrument installed on the VLTI that merges light from four telescopes, achieving a resolution so precise that it could distinguish a person walking on the Moon. Interestingly, WOH G64 itself is not visible in the image; it remains obscured by the dust it has shed. By comparing the new findings with prior observations, researchers noted a significant dimming of the star over the past decade, further indicating its impending end.
Conclusion
“This star is one of the most extreme of its kind, and any drastic change may bring it closer to an explosive end,” van Loon warned, highlighting the significance of this discovery. As we continue to explore the cosmos, the image of WOH G64 serves as a poignant reminder of the life cycles of stars and the celestial wonders that await us in the universe.
This captivating glimpse into the life of WOH G64 underscores not only the marvels of astronomical research but also the imminent cosmic events that can reshape our understanding of the universe. Stay tuned as scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of the stars!
